11
November 2024
|
LSE:
PDL
|
Petra
Diamonds Limited
("Petra"
or "the Company")
Directorate
Changes
Petra announces that
Varda Shine has notified the Company
that she will not offer herself for re-election at the Company's
forthcoming Annual General Meeting on 13
November 2024 and will retire from the Board at the
conclusion of that meeting.
Varda Shine said:
"I am stepping down
from the Board for personal reasons, having indicated last
year that I will take on the role of Chair of Petra only for a
short period. It has been an
honour and a pleasure to be a Director of Petra for the past almost
six years and Chair for the last year. During my time on the Board,
Petra has had to navigate significant challenges, including the
pandemic and the Company's financial
restructuring.
More
latterly as Chair, the focus
has been on the Company's response to the ongoing weakness in the
diamond market, with the delivery of updated Life of Mine plans
that significantly enhance Petra's resilience to future market and
capital cycles as Petra prepares itself for a refinancing of its 2L
Notes. I would like to thank my fellow Directors and the
exceptional Petra management team and wish Petra every success for
the future."
The Board has
appointed José Manuel Vargas, Non-Executive Director, as Chair
of Petra with effect from the conclusion of the Annual General
Meeting. José Manuel will also
become Chair of the Investment Committee. Bernard Pryor, Senior Independent Director and
Chair of the Remuneration Committee, will become the Chair of the
Nomination Committee.
José Manuel Vargas, Chair designate of Petra,
said:
"I would like to thank
Varda for her service to Petra and look forward to working with my
fellow Directors to ensure a smooth
transition.
Varda joined the Petra
Board in January
2019 and
became Remco Chair in April 2020,
becoming Petra's Chair in November
2023. She oversaw various changes that resulted in a smaller
and more efficient Board and has helped steer Petra
through a challenging diamond market.
On behalf of the Board
and Petra, we are grateful to Varda for the significant
contributions she has made during her tenure and wish her every
success in her future endeavours."
José Manuel is Chair of
MAXAM, a leading explosives manufacturer, on the board of Fluidra
S.A. and ASK Chemicals, and is a Managing Director of Rhône
Capital. José Manuel has extensive
executive and board experience across various sectors. From 2020
until January 2024, he was Chair and
CEO of MAXAM and was previously Chair and CEO of Aena SME S.A.,
where he led its restructuring, partial privatisation and IPO in
2015. Before Aena, he held senior management positions at Vocento
S.A., including CFO and later CEO. He also served as CFO and
General Secretary of JOTSA and has been on the boards of several
other companies, including Vocento, Diario ABC and Wellbore
Integrity Solutions LLC. José Manuel is a
significant shareholder of Petra,
currently holding c. 11.39% of the Company's issued share
capital.
Petra's Annual General
Meeting will be held at 09.00 (GMT)
on Wednesday, 13 November 2024 at One Heddon Street,
London, W1B 4BD. Resolution 5,
being the re-election of Varda
Shine, has been withdrawn. At the time of this
announcement, over 99% of the votes cast were in favour of this
resolution.
FURTHER
INFORMATION
Petra
Diamonds, London +44
(0)784 192 0021
Patrick Pittaway investorrelations@petradiamonds.com
Kelsey Traynor
ABOUT PETRA
DIAMONDS
Petra
Diamonds is
a leading independent diamond mining group and a supplier of gem
quality rough diamonds to the international market. The Company's
portfolio incorporates interests in two underground mines
in South
Africa (Cullinan
Mine and Finsch) and one open pit mine in Tanzania (Williamson).
Petra's
strategy is to focus on value rather than volume production by
optimising recoveries from its high-quality asset base in order to
maximise their efficiency and profitability. The Group has a
significant resource base which supports the potential for
long-life operations.
Petra
strives to conduct all operations according to the highest ethical
standards and only operates in countries which are members of the
Kimberley Process. The Company aims to generate tangible value for
each of its stakeholders, thereby contributing to the
socio-economic development of its host countries and supporting
long-term sustainable operations to the benefit of its employees,
partners and communities.
Petra is
quoted with a premium listing on the Main Market of
the London
Stock Exchange under
the ticker 'PDL'. The Company's loan notes due in 2026 are listed
on the Irish
Stock Exchange and
admitted to trading on the Global
Exchange Market. For more information, visit www.petradiamonds.com.